Thursday, 2 February 2017

Users of the Marshall Library may be interested in the:

Encyclopedia of political thought

(Re-blogged from EJOURNALS@CAMBRIDGE)

The University of Cambridge now has access to the Encyclopedia of political thought. The Encyclopedia can be accessed via this link:http://ezproxy.lib.cam.ac.uk:2048/login?url=http://www.encyclopediaofpoliticalthought.com/
The Encyclopedia examines the history of political thought,
contemporary political theory, and political philosophy. The entries
range in size from shorter definitions and biographies to extended
treatments of major topics and traditions. Tracing the evolution of
political thinking from antiquity to the present, the scope of this
unprecedented resource emphasizes the richness and diversity of the
field’s traditions.

Offers over 900 A-Z entries including shorter definitions and
biographies as well as extended treatments of major topics from over 700
contributors from around the world.

Examines the history of political thought from antiquity to contemporary political theory and political philosophy

Reflects diverse traditions in the evolution of political theory and political science

Addresses the theorists, their key theories and methods from within the western canon as well as from non-western perspectives

“A central problem for constitutionalism is the enforcement of
constitutional norms. In the USA, there is no effective dissent from the
practice, established in 1803 by Chief Justice Marshall in Marbury v. Madison,
that courts in appropriate cases may overturn statutes as
unconstitutional. But the idea of a constitutional court, though gaining
ground around the world, is not a necessary component of
constitutionalism. Legislatures and executives may feel bound by
constitutional norms, even though they have the formal power to
disregard them. Not since 1707 have British monarchs vetoed legislation
enacted by parliament, though they have the “legal” authority to do so.
In the USA, decisions to impeach and convict federal officials, such as
the president and judges, are wholly in the hands of Congress under the
constitution itself, but the impeachment power has been used only
sparingly and when, occasionally, it was misused, the Senate refused to
convict. That said, it is also indisputable that constitutional norms
can change so that what was once thought to be perfectly plain and
acceptable to one generation becomes unthinkable, as a matter of
constitutional law, to another. The most spectacular example in American
history is the Supreme Court’s change of mind on the question of racial
segregation from its 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson to its decision in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education.”
— Lieberman, J. K. 2014. Constitutionalism. The Encyclopedia of Political Thought. 730–732Inscription on the wall of the Supreme Court Building from Marbury v. Madison, in which Chief Justice John Marshall outlined the concept of judicial review